Hopes are rising that increased ferry and lairage capacity could see 80,000 calves per month exported from March.

Senior Department of Agriculture veterinary officials told the Oireachtas extra capacity would be available.

Officials were confident that from March the new Irish Ferries sailings on the WB Yeats from Dublin to Cherbourg would complement the existing sailings from Rosslare and allow more efficient use of the limited resting lairages at Cherbourg.

This would be in time for the calf export peak, which runs to mid-April. There will be more than 25,000 extra calves born in dairy herds this year.

The complex scheduling timetables mean the combined exports from the Dublin and Rosslare sailings will be 12,000 head one week and 28,000 head in the following week, totalling 80,000 calves per month.

However, Irish Ferries has yet to confirm it has been able to rearrange its fleet of boats and route timetables to begin this enhanced service from March.

Veterinary and marine officials from the Department have inspected the WB Yeats and expect to be able to approve it as suitable to safely carry calf trucks.